Tom Hardy’s Exit From Apple TV’s New Crime Thriller Series Adaptation Addressed By Showrunner

EXCLUSIVE: Tom Hardy was initially expected to star in the Apple TV crime thriller Nocturne, and the showrunner is now revealing how major cast changes affected the adaptation.

Nocturne is based on the novel The Sandman by author Lars Kepler and centers on a veteran and homicide detective who discovers that the town he moved to is being targeted by a serial killer from Riverside Psychiatric Hospital. Liev Schreiber stars as the former detective, Jonah Lynn, with Stephen Graham playing murderer Jurek Walter.

Despite early reports about Hardy’s involvement in front of and behind the camera, actors like Schreiber and Graham joined the series instead. Now, in an interview with ScreenRant‘s Liam Crowley, Nocturne showrunner John Hlavin is opening up about what Schreiber brought to the role and how his portrayal of the detective changed and evolved after Hardy’s exit.

Schreiber is a “frighteningly intelligent guy,” according to Hlavin, and always wants authenticity to be the “number one goal.” On the first day of production, they filmed a scene in which his character, Jonah, had to walk through the woods and look at a map. It was around 90 degrees and very humid when they were shooting in Pennsylvania in the middle of the summer.

Schreiber wore a Carhartt lined jacket, and Hlavin checked on the actor to see if he wanted the lining removed to lighten his load. Schreiber declined the offer because he wanted to play into the fact that it was really hot while filming the scene.

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“That early conversation informed a lot of what any adjustments we made were like,” Hlavin explained. “Liev is not interested in anything that is not real,” which is a trait that fits the character of Jonah as well.

Once Hlavin realized that this was how his lead actor worked, he wanted that mindset to continue through the rest of the filming process. “Now that we have someone who’s willing to do all this, let’s turn the gas up and see what happens,” he added.

John Hlavin: “In a number of ways, and all positive, Liev is a frighteningly intelligent guy, and he’s got a thousand details in his head at any given moment. You really have to be thinking about the details. His number one goal is to be authentic. The very first day we shot, the very first scene we shot, it’s in the pilot, is him walking through the woods; he’s looking at a map. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Pennsylvania; it was like 150% humidity. It was like 90 degrees.

“It was July. It was incredibly hot. And he was wearing a Carhartt, a lined jacket. We weren’t friends. We were just colleagues. I said, ‘Hey, would you like us to remove the lining and try to lighten your load?’ He goes, ‘No.’ And he had a backpack on and a gun. I go, ‘It’s very hot.’ He goes, ‘Yeah, it’s real.’ He goes, ‘It’s what’s happening. So I’m going to play…’ That early conversation informed a lot of what any adjustments we made were like. Liev is not interested in anything that is not real. And that was also true for Jonah in a way. Almost everything you see him do in the show is from the place of authenticity. He won’t do something that’s not real. So that’s the way that primarily we found ourselves looking at it. Now that we have someone who’s willing to do all this, let’s turn the gas up and see what happens.”

John Hlavin: “In a number of ways, and all positive, Liev is a frighteningly intelligent guy, and he’s got a thousand details in his head at any given moment. You really have to be thinking about the details. His number one goal is to be authentic. The very first day we shot, the very first scene we shot, it’s in the pilot, is him walking through the woods; he’s looking at a map. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Pennsylvania; it was like 150% humidity. It was like 90 degrees.

“It was July. It was incredibly hot. And he was wearing a Carhartt, a lined jacket. We weren’t friends. We were just colleagues. I said, ‘Hey, would you like us to remove the lining and try to lighten your load?’ He goes, ‘No.’ And he had a backpack on and a gun. I go, ‘It’s very hot.’ He goes, ‘Yeah, it’s real.’ He goes, ‘It’s what’s happening. So I’m going to play…’ That early conversation informed a lot of what any adjustments we made were like. Liev is not interested in anything that is not real. And that was also true for Jonah in a way. Almost everything you see him do in the show is from the place of authenticity. He won’t do something that’s not real. So that’s the way that primarily we found ourselves looking at it. Now that we have someone who’s willing to do all this, let’s turn the gas up and see what happens.”

Aside from being the showrunner, Hlavin is also a writer on Nocturne and an executive producer with Schreiber, co-star Zazie Beetz, director Tim Van Patten, author Kepler, Øystein Karlsen, David Rysdahl, Dorothy Fortenberry, Niclas Salomonsson, Barry Jossen, Tana Jamieson and creator Rowan Joffé.

Other cast members include Bill Camp, Rory Culkin, Chrissy Metz, Poorna Jagannathan and Gary Carr.

Before that, Schreiber had been nominated for multiple Emmys for his role in the crime drama Ray Donovan. He also appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Spotlight, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Perfect Couple and Splinter Cell: Deathwatch.

So far, only two episodes have been released on Apple TV, but critics have been sharing positive reviews of Nocturne, which currently has an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. The finale is scheduled for Christmas Day.

Nocturne releases new episodes every Friday on Apple TV.

Nocturne

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  Liev Schreiber

  Jonah Lynn

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  Zazie Beetz

  FBI Agent Saga Bauer

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  Stephen Graham

  Jurek Walter

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  Landon Valentin

  Michael Frost

Former Philadelphia homicide detective Jonah Lynn opts for a quieter life in western Pennsylvania, but his peace is shattered when a notorious serial killer targets his family and community.